ISANA

Shanton Chang

Abstract:  This paper discusses ways in which student interaction and integration may be
achieved through curriculum design. It approaches the challenge of localinternational
student interaction by addressing the shortcomings of traditional
curriculum development that may not take into consideration the diversity of the
student cohort adequately. The paper highlights and integrates important
considerations for internationalisation with various key issues in curriculum
development, including; rationale and philosophy behind…

Ana Deumert, Simon Marginson, Chris Nyland, Gaby Ramia, Erlenawati Sawir

Abstract: Between 1995 and 2001, the number of international students studying in OECD nations rose from 1.3 to 1.6 million (OECD 2003), and the cross-border delivery of education, via foreign branch campuses and in distance education modes, also increased significantly. Global demand for international education is fed by the growth in globally mobile work especially in business studies, and information…

Greg Calvert

Abstract:  The paper draws on research of 110 international fee-paying students studying Science and Engineering courses in the Schools, Vocational Education and Training, and Higher Education sectors in nine institutions in five Australian states and territories. The research identified that 68 percent of the sample had not had career advice before coming to Australia. This has implications for students’ understandings of Australian education and training, especially entry procedures into…

Taeko Sakurai

Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that local/international students intervention programs are beneficial in order to help international students make local friends (e.g., Ward et al 2001). However, no study was found which assessed the effect of multicultural interactions such as activities for international students. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a bus excursion on international students. Ninety six international students from 12 countries completed surveys one month…

Felicity Fallon

Abstract: The Confucian-heritage background, the country of origin and the age of the students in this study have all been found to contribute to the problems experienced by these students, the sources of help they use, and how they relate to these problems. These things must then be considered in providing support services for these students. In particular, the importance of these students’ friends in the help-seeking process must be noted…

Karen Commons and Xiaodan Gao

Abstract:  Research on the experiences of international students and their adaptation to the education environment in NZ has revealed some dissatisfaction relating to the academic experience of international students in NZ. It has been suggested that the discrepancy between international students’ expectations and reality may sometimes contribute to negative views and difficulties with study. Student Learning Support Service at Victoria University of Wellington has designed…

Chika Anyanwu

Abstract:  The Federal Government funding cuts since the 1990s have forced many (if not all) Australian universities to find alternative means to subsidise such shortfalls, one of these being increased international enrolment. One of the consequences of this new economic direction is the influx of international students with new kinds of expectations and overwhlmed academic and administrative staff who have not fully appreciated or undertood the full import of such dramatic academic cultural…

Choi, Serene Hyun-Jin, Nieminen, Timo A., Bartylla, C., Bertrand, D., Gong, Y. X., Huber, E., Krüger, K., and Therkildsen, K.

Abstract: We explore the experiences, both positive and negative, of six visiting research students in physics in an Australian university. We consider their motivations for coming to Australia, their take-home impressions of their visits, and what institutions can do to maximise the success of such visits for both the…

Felicity Fallon, Terry McGrath

The workshop addresses the interests and needs of those working with international students at
the secondary school level. It has three main emphases: how to enable both the international and
the local students to gain the most from the presence of international students in the school,
academic and classroom management issues and the support and welfare issues associated with
the education of younger international students.

Dr Stanley Winter Theron and Clark Liu Wengang

Abstract: This paper critically assesses the general problems enhancing international student communication, “Global
Village” general problem!
As in all human communication, interaction between local and “foreign” students can be problematic on a
variety of real or perceived levels, and includes factors such as “host and guest cultures”, age and interest
levels as well as cultural switching between including “host and guest cultures”
…

Lynda Lawson

Abstract: Designed and implemented as a joint project between International student services and the Research Students Centre and overseen by the Dean of Graduate Studies, RIS offers a series of intensive classes, presentations and workshops to new international research students at QUT. The core purpose of this program is to help international research students become familiar with the linguistic and academic expectations as well as the cultural conventions required to…

Dr Felicity Fallon, President, ISANA International Education Association, Australia and New Zealand.

Presented at the 2008 APAIE Conference in Japan

Abstract: This paper explores the issues relating to plagiarism and students from Asian countries, particularly those with a Confucian-heritage background, studying in Australia and New Zealand. It looks at the issues of cultural values and ownership of knowledge as they are related to this issue from the perspective of Hofstede’s Cultural…

Helen Forbes-Mewett, et al

Abstract: Growth in the number of international students studying in English language countries has slowed in recent years and this development has generated extended debate amongst university managers and policy makers. In these discussions much attention has focussed on whether the slow down is to be explained by currency realignments, visa requirements, the quality of education, or the increasing competitiveness of the international education market. But what has attracted little attention…

Peter Kell, Virginie Schmelitschek, Anne Maree Smith and Gillian Vogl

ABSTRACT:  This paper reports on a community action project that was developed by a
community committee to assist international students to feel more welcome in
Wollongong. Research with international students carried out since 2005 by Peter
Kell and Gillian Vogl found that international students who were well connected to
their communities experienced greater well being and performed better
academically. In…

Gavin Sanderson

Abstract: This paper reports on research undertaken in a university department to determine if academic staff used a range of theory-based practical teaching strategies that are promoted to assist international students adjust to Australian academe and support their learning. The department has an enrolment of 50 per cent international students and is located at a medium-size Australian university that is in the planning phase of internationalising its teaching and learning activities. A ‘mixed…

Julie Hockey and Dr Carolyn McSwiney

Abstract: Concern for newly arrived international students must extend beyond the more obvious group of first year students to include a growing cohort of articulant students arriving in Australia having completed part of their degree in their home countries. This paper describes a dual ‘pre-departure’ and ‘on-arrival’ academic library program developed to meet the differential needs of this cohort in the University of South Australia. It is designed to…

Amanda Daly and Justine Brown

Abstract: The New Zealand international education sector has seen significant growth over the last decade. Associated with this change, New Zealand tertiary educators need to be increasingly aware of language and learning needs of students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB). Certainly, language is seen as an underlying factor influencing student socio-cultural and educational adjustment. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the ways in which lecturers…

Negotiating trust and respect: relationships between staff members at La Trobe
University International College and Middle Eastern Students

Usha Rao

Abstract:  This presentation is based on a very small action research project undertaken by the author at
La Trobe University International College (LTUIC) early this year when there were over 200
students from the Middle Eastern countries in ELICOS at LTUIC. The findings were first
presented in May, 2008 at the…

Vivienne Anderson

Abstract: International education research has long been preoccupied with the question of how to foster interaction between
international and local students. ‘Integration’ is imagined as a desirable endpoint of interaction, where international students become part of the broader social network and local students are accepting of and open to international students. However international-ness and local-ness are problematic categories. Numerous commonalities and differences are subsumed within them, and by considering ‘interaction’ and ‘integration’…

Sarah Ahern

Abstract:  International education is a major contributor to the Australian economy. By the end of
2007, it was ranked third, after coal and iron ore, as an export earner, having overtaken
tourism to become the most successful service industry in Australia. The financial
success of the industry, however, overshadows other aspects of the trade in education.
In this paper, I focus on the role of government policy in international…